


The Dark Side of the Moon

by AnxiousBabyNightmare



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Violence, happyish ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-04 22:32:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15850752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxiousBabyNightmare/pseuds/AnxiousBabyNightmare
Summary: An adventure in the imagination goes terribly wrong, and the thought of losing one of their own shakes each side to their core.





	The Dark Side of the Moon

“Okay, what the hell is that?” The anxious sides’ question breached the silence which had manifested around the group as they stared at a large carving which was placed above an old rickety door. They all currently stood at the entrance to a long since abandoned home atop of a hill. The bellowing winds and sharp coldness of the air only emphasised how isolated the building was and, as the embodiment of anxiety should, a hollow feeling of dread filled Virgil.

“That my friendly travelling fellows” Roman responded, bringing his hand up in his typical grandeur mannerisms, as if to bring the group of abnormal beings back into their typical normal routine “Is the moon.”

 

More silence.

 

“Ah, yes I _totally_ see that now” Deceit, who leant against the front of the house, rolled his eyes.

“Yeah what he said” Virgil nodded quickly over to him “How on earth is that thing a moon?”

“Not a moon, **the** moon.” Logan corrects “And I believe what Roman is referring to is alchemy, this creature was often used to represent the moon, in fact, it was also celebrated by the Egyptians and Phoenicians as a divine being, something of incredible intellect, ferocity and speed.”

“Great so now the Prince is bringing god-like creatures into the fantasy world? Yeah, that’s definitely not going to go wrong.” Virgil muttered.

“Now kiddo, let’s try and stay a little positive here.” Patton patted his dark strange son on the back “Negative _**comets**_ like that won’t make anything better.”

“Unnecessary.” Logan interjected “A moon is not a comet, due to the fact it rotates around a planet. If you have to make puns then at least let them be about moons, space is too vast to allow you free pun reign.” He sighed “Besides that, I must say I’m impressed Roman. To decide to study such an interesting topic, what brought on your interest in al-

“It was Full Metal Alch-“

“It was an anime. Of course it was” Logan sighed in disappointment.

“So… the moon _isn’t_ living in this _lovely_ home?” Deceit called out, hoping to bring the others back on track. He could feel his scales begin to itch and wished to head home as soon as possible.

“It certainly does my naga friend-” Roman jumped up in excitement.

“Let’s not mix up mythologies.” Logan pointed it, though the Prince elected to ignore the logical sides concerns.

“-The moon has taken residence in this spoooooky mansion-”

Virgil huffed “We’re not kids outside a shitty haunted attraction dude.”

“-and we must defeat the ferocious fellow!” Roman declared. “Awwww, do we have to kill it?” Patton pouted.

“Yes! Of course we have to!” Roman stomped his foot in a strop “It wouldn’t be an adventure if there wasn’t a beast to slay.”

“And we hate to be original.” Deceit rolled his eyes again.

* * *

 

As Roman opened the door a resounding creak pierced the air. It was almost impossible to see what the interior of the house looked like. It’s was surrounded in both a veil of darkness and dust which, due to the sudden draft caused by opening the door, pelted the group, sending them coughing and spluttering. Once the dust had settled a grand entrance came into view. The interior was painted in a dark green with purple accents in silk banners and carpeting providing a sharp contrast to the juniper hue. Most noticeably there was a large chandelier which hung precariously above the group as they entered the centre of the room, which itself had been adorned with numerous and large cobwebs. The sight sent a shiver down Patton’s spine.

“This really is the house of the devil.” He whimpered. His mutterings were ignored by Logan who tilted his glasses and surveyed their surroundings

“Seemingly this is a three-storey house. Perhaps four if we take into consideration that establishments of this size tend to have a wine cellar. If we wish for this ordeal to be handled swiftly I suggest we split into gro-”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“Hell no. No no. Are you mad?” Virgil shook his head furiously at Logan’s suggestion.

“…It’ll be the most time efficient way.” Logan attempted to counter, though it did not halt Virgil aspersions.

“Geez, were you not around every time Thomas watched a horror film?”

“We literally can’t do anything when that happens because you tend to take over the reins.” Roman pointed out sheepishly.

“…Fair point. But anyway, no splitting up, that’s always where something goes wrong.”

“Okay, so we all go as a group, but where to look?” Patton asked

“I mean, if I was a ferocious killer I would probably go to the basement.” Roman suggested.

“And if I was the emissary of the moon I would probably go to the highest point of the building: The attic.” Logan countered.

“Both those options sound awful.” The anxious side pouted, bringing his arms closer to his chest.

“Let’s waste _more_ time please, I’m begging you.”

“Okay then **_scale-crow_** , what’s your suggestion?” Roman addressed the deceitful side flippantly.

“…Scale-crow?”

“As in scarecrow… because he’s scary…. And he has scales.”

“Boo.” Virgil chastised.

“Well… it _wouldn’t_ make sense to start up and then lure the moon into trapping itself in the basement.” Deceit answered smugly.

“…oh. That isn’t a bad idea actually.”

Virgil exhaled loudly “I really don’t like this.”

“Don’t worry kiddo, I’ll make you a deal” Patton bounded forward and whispered in his ears “I’ll protect you from the beast if you protect me from the spiders.”

He snorted “Deal.”

* * *

 

If the dust of the entrance escaped like a stream, the dust from the attic escaped like a torrent. The prince let out of yelp as he slipped from the ladder after being bombarded by the smoke screen. With a gentle thud he landed into the arms of Virgil, whose wits were quick enough to surge forward and break his fall. The two paused, staring at each other momentarily.

“This feels similar… yet a little bit different at the same time.” Roman mused.

“Oh bother” Virgil grunted as he dropped the fanciful side and made his way to the ladder. “Can we assume that with so much dust that someone or something hasn’t been up there for a while?” Roman huffed as he stood up, rubbing his back. Patton gave him a friendly pat.

“Possibly, though there would be no harm in making assurances” Logan responded.

“Yes. There would be harm in checking. You do remember we’re chasing a ferocious beast and not the cheese wheel in the sky?” Virgil spat.

“A monster made of cheese…” Patton thought aloud “… ** _gorgenzilla_**!”

There was a collective groan before Deceit stepped forward “I’ll go _last_ ” he stated as he began his ascent. The other sides quickly followed suit, bar Virgil who just stared up and sighed.

“My poor heart…there I was thinking it was already damaged.”

“We can hear your lamentations from up here _**Edam’s family**_ , hurry up!” Roman called.

Virgil grabbed the ladder and, checking first that it was safe to climb with a firm shake, began the climb up to the attic. He popped his head and surveyed the area. The rest of his company were checking the series of boxes that were stacked high across the sides of the large space. Roman had made a series of steps using said boxes in order to check on top of the rafters.

“I’m pretty sure the monster hasn’t filed itself away you guys.” Virgil sassed.

“You _can_ be certain.” Deceit teased “Have we not checked under ‘B’ for beast, or ‘L’ for lunar emissary?”

The two darker sides began to snicker as Logan turned around to them, exasperated. “Does it look like the occupants of this house had an efficient filing system?”

“I don’t think that’s what you should be taking away from that.” Patton chuckled. “It’s not up here guys.”

“I believe padre is right.” Roman responded, jumping down from the boxes.

“Great, so we can head down now?”

“Virgil, you’re still on the ladder. You didn’t head up.”

“Too many cooks spoil the broth.” The anxious side shrugged.

“We’re not in a kitchen. Nor is there broth up here.”

“Logan, buddy, please stop taking things so- woah!” Virgil was unable to finish his sentence as a great crack was heard underneath him and his body fell out of view of the others.

“Virgil!” Patton shouted.

Roman surged forward and stuck his head out of the floor. The ladder was broken and sprawled across the place, Virgil was also lying within the wreckage. Roman heard a large, territorial growl. He felt all the blood go from his face. “Virgil get up!” He hollered.

The panic in Roman’s voice surged a second wind in Virgil and he shot up. He laid eyes on the beast in front of him. It was honestly a perfect rendition of the beast pictured by the door, with the head of a hawk, the body of a dragon and the tail of a serpent. The only misrepresentation would be the numerous teeth which filled its beak as it let out another furious roar. Virgil could feel his heart pound against his chest as he reached a stage of hypertension. Slowly, without taking his eyes off the creature he felt around the floor for the shards of the wooden ladder. Just as he found a sizable chunk he saw the creature line up its body. There were a few moments where time felt as though it’d stopped.

The two stared at each other intently, as if both were trying to determine how the other would act. Without warning the moon leapt, fangs exposed. Virgil thought he heard a scream from above him but pushed himself forward regardless. As a talon hit his shoulder he swung his arm around and stabbed the beast in its side with his makeshift stake. The two toppled over, though the beast recovered first. With a snarl, it crawled around and made its way down the stairs. Virgil groaned and rolled slightly on the floor. He knew from the impact that the wound wasn’t deep, but surprisingly it did not make it hurt any less. The whole experience had drained him of all his energy and as he felt someone shake him he let out a cry.

“Kiddo! Kiddo are you okay?” Patton asked, his voice filled with slight hysteria and sadness. The sound of the father figure in such a state stirred Virgil from his stupor.

“I…I think so. It just hurts I guess.” Virgil attempted to sit himself up, though he was pushed down again.

“Apologies.” Logan spoke, “But it may be prudent to lay down while I assess your wound.”

“What happened Virgil?” Roman asked.

“Hell if I know. The ladder was pretty firm when I climbed up. I guess the moon attacked it, which caused the crack we heard?”

“That sounds probable,” Logan confirmed. “The wound isn’t too deep, though we need to stop the blood flow regardless, we need some cloth.”

Gentle ripping could be heard from Logan’s side, and as he turned Deceit outstretched his hand and presented him with some black fabric.

“Will this _not_ do?” The snake asked worriedness etched on his face.

“Ah, your cape! That would be perfect Deceit thank-you” Logan offered a grateful nod and took the material.

“Your cape? That’s your favourite one though…” Virgil tried to protest.

“Hush now Virgil.” Patton whispered, stroking the hair away from his face “It’s too late now anyway.”

“I can always _not_ get a new one” Deceit shrugged “ _Fortunately_ , I can’t get another you.”

“…I honestly have no idea if that was an insult or a compliment.” Virgil huffed.

“Ah, he’s being a sass-master again. He’ll be fine.” Roman chuckled.

“I agree. Now on to the matter at hand.” Logan turned towards the stairs. “It headed down correct?”

Virgil sat up, stretching his shoulder slightly to adjust to the new pressure there. “Yes it did, the thing is fast though, it’d be better if we came up with a more detailed plan than ‘try to trap in cellar.’”

“Agreed, though the creature does seem intelligent. It may try to refrain from fighting due to its damaged state. If we all arm ourselves with the weapon which hurt it, we may be able to coerce it into the basement still.” Logan mused.

“So we find it, encircle it and drive it to a place it can’t escape. That sounds like a plan to me!” Roman clapped.

Patton and Deceit helped Virgil to his feet. Patton gave him a quick worried look over before responding “Alright, but if this gets any worse we’re leaving, I’m not endangering anyone else.”

“But-“

“No, Roman. No more injuries understood?”

“…yeah I do. Sorry.” Roman relented.

“Wow, I _hate_ it when the prince looks this sullen.” Deceit teased “Let’s _not_ get a move on already.”

* * *

 

The sides had carefully made their way to the dining room, situated on the ground floor of the mansion. The room was very long and in its centre, there was a large table that, by Logan’s count was large enough to seat around 30 people. One side of the room was decorated with paintings and small flower displays, while the other side was made completely of glass, looking out onto the decaying scenery outside. Tentatively Roman lifted up the tablecloth and ducked his head down quickly. There was no sign of the beast, and with a sigh, he stood back up.

“We’re certain they haven’t just gone straight to the basement after their clash with Virgil?”

“…wouldn’t it be a ‘she’?” Logan asked.

“What?”

“The moon is often referred to as female, so wouldn’t ‘they’ be a ‘she’?”

“You know what Logan? Next time ‘she’ tries to kill me I’ll be sure to ask.” Virgil huffed.

Logan chuckled dryly “I guess it’s wrong to assume that the gender humans have given them is actually correct.”

“I know I’m usually the one that needs a reality check but… It’s not real you guys.” Roman sighed.

“And I think we should probably focus on the _**crescent**_ issue, you guys.” Patton snickered.

“…at least this one was moon-based,” Logan grunted. “Anyway, we’ve checked pretty much every major room so far on this floor, so I imagine either we have missed something or, as Roman suggested, the moon has made its way to the basement.”

“That or its just moving from room to room.” Virgil offered.

“We’d at least see a trail of blood though, right?” Roman pointed out

“Not unless it’s moving behind us, we’d only see a trail if we looked in a room we’ve already checked.”

“We don’t have time to be running around chasing our own tail. The longer we waste time the longer it has to recuperate. We have no idea how fast it can heal.”

“And chasing their tail in an endless circle is a snake’s job! Right, Dec-” Roman spun around to where he thought his fellow dramatize stood, but was instead greeted by an empty space “-eit? Where’s D?”

“He was with us when we entered this room.” Patton responded.

“Did anyone hear him leave?” Logan asked.

The feeling of dread doubled inside Virgil’s stomach as he gripped his head in anguish “No…You’re not supposed to go off on your own. We need to find him quick otherw-”

The noise creaked through the house. Everyone froze, listening.There was a scrap of claws, a scream and soon they all had the dreaded thought that they had one less member than they originally had.

It was Logan who reacted first, his ears piqued towards the direction of the sound. “The kitchen. It came from there!”

As all four sides burst through the double doors they caught sight of a tail exiting the backdoor into the outdoors.

They saw a lot of blood.

They saw a bowler hat.

Virgil stared down. He gulped dryly and stumbled forward towards the hat. As he dropped to his knees he reached out to it. “ **No no no no no no no**.” He muttered hysterically to himself, his voice warping. He grasped onto the hat and hugged it close to his chest. He tried to hold back the tears but the hollow feeling in his chest did not want to be filled. All his emotions spilt out “shit! Shit **shit shit**!”

Patton, on the other hand, couldn’t cry. He just felt numb…cold. The sight was so unexpected that he had no feasible idea how to react. He swayed slightly but held onto the counter to support himself. His mind buzzed, he should have called everything off when Virgil got hurt, why did he carry it on? What was he trying to prove? Deceit had only just recently come to live with them, he no longer wanted to hide in the shadows. But now he… how will this…why him? Why?

Patton heard the shuddered breath of someone next to him. He turned to see Logan, his eyes had narrowed, pupils darting across every inch of the room. Patton could tell what he was thinking. He was trying to find a possible solution to this, figuring out a way that Deceit was still alive and this was just an elaborate ruse. He could see the moment when he ran out of leads, his eyes closed and his mouth quivered slightly. Logan spoke up:

“We need to leave.”

“Not until that bastard’s dead we’re not!” Roman roared, he turned to the others, his eyes shone with tears, but his mouth was pulled into a snarl, his knuckles white with how hard he had balled them into fists. “It just killed our friend. It’s not getting away with it!”

“ **I wanna kill it** ,” Virgil whispered. He was rocking slightly on the floor. His eyes still affixed on the blood on the floor. “ **I need to kill it.** ”

“Kiddos this isn’t the way.” Patton tried to comfort the other two, though he himself found no comfort in his words “Revenge isn’t the way to grieve.”

“But-” Roman began but was cut short by Logan

“Thomas.”

The three let out a small gasp. “We have no idea how losing a side will affect Thomas.” Logan continued “We need to make sure he’s alright first.”

There was a brief pause. Virgil let out another “Shit!” but eventually stood up, still clasping onto Deceit’s hat. “Okay.”

Roman huffed but wiped the tears from his face regardless. He reached into his pocket and produced a key. He held it out in front of him and gave it a twist. A door of light dazzled in front of him. He gestured to the others, beckoning them inside. Logan walked through first, shaky but eyes focused. Patton guided Virgil through, both sides had their faces down, Virgil especially was shaking badly. Roman let out another heavy breath, looked at the scene and cursed under his breath, a promise to take vengeance and to never try something like this again.

* * *

 

The others entered Roman’s room and stared on in shock. A familiar sinister smile greeted them. The side was on the floor, slightly dishevelled as if he had just been abruptly plopped into this plane of existence, bowler hat haphazardly close to falling off his head.

It felt as though someone had knocked the wind out of all four of them as they just stared at him. Emotions left and entered them like a riptide. They attempted to speak but promptly closed their mouths shut again, finding it difficult to express the speed at which all their and anger and pain had been replaced with utter joy.

Virgil began to sob.

“Aww, did you miss _me_?” he cooed at the others.

“Deceit!” Roman shouted, eye glistening with happiness.

“What?” Logan looked at him quizzically

“Oh! My snake son is okay!”

“ **Yes of course I missed you**!” Virgil yelled, though he quickly slapped his hand over his mouth. Patton laughed lightly at Virgil’s genuine outburst, which caused the anxious side to groan and hide behind him in embarrassment.

Deceit looked on, shell-shocked “Uh, you did? I didn’t- I mean that’s what I thought _you’d_ say”

Logan looked back and forth between both Deceit and Roman, bewildered at the revelation that their friend was okay. He breathed out deeply before he began to pry for answers “Okay: a couple of things. Firstly, Deceit, of course we’re glad you’re okay. Like we have said numerous times, just because we do not see eye to eye with each other does not mean anyone is not imperative to Thomas’ well-being. You are his self-preservation, but you also inspire… sometimes necessary false hope. When the situation looks dire, when all logic suggests a bad outcome you tell Thomas to keep pushing through, that “everything will be alright.” That’s an invaluable part of any human psyche.”

Deceit stared on, shocked “ _n-not_ thank you.”

Logan huffed in amusement “Poor grammar aside: secondly, Roman why didn’t you tell us this would happen?”

“I didn’t know!” Roman jumped up defensively “A side has never died in the imagination before, I thought it was like the whole ‘if you die in the game you die for real’…deal”

“I’m the side who like to feel!” Patton clapped his hands at the start of a rhyming game.

“Any word game I will perform with zeal.” Logan chimed in.

“I wish I was an eel.” Virgil groaned behind Patton.

“That one was a little forced, but okay.”

“Ugh you guys are not weird” Deceit grimaced. He turned away and headed towards the door “I’m not going now… I’m not feeling my snakeskin begin to peel.”

“Ohhhhhhh!” Roman sounded as Deceit made his way to the door “He joined in.” As the deceitful side stepped forward he couldn’t help but bring his hand to his neck. The scene played over again in his mind, of a sudden blur moving in front of him, that he turned to the left trying to follow its movements only to see the fangs of a gaping mouth lunging right for him, and then… and then…

_Cold. He felt cold. He tried to move his eyes, which were already drooping. He looked to the left, there was the kitchen floor. To the right he saw the ceiling, which is when he realised he was lying on the ground. He looked up, saw his bowler hat rolling away, with specs of red dirtying the floor. He looked down. Red. He saw the beast, jaw snapping open and shut quickly as it feasted. Deceit questioned why he couldn’t feel anything, but as he tried to vocalise such concerns he convulsed, a warm feeling spewing up from his throat as he coughed up a mixture of blood and bile. When the moon was finally satiated it turned and slinked away. That was when things got worse. It felt like every individual cell began to evaporate. He was breaking apart by the seams and all he could do was watch, feel, glassily…alone…_

“Deceit?” He heard one of them call his name.

“I…. I….” He swallowed harshly, the emotions not dwelling “I…died.”

He could hear a small gasp. He stared at the floor, the feeling of isolation swirled around him as he tried to shake away the flashing images of his own demise. When he felt Patton wrap his arms around him however he couldn’t help but sink into the warmth, the tears were finally released. He nestled his head into the moral sides chest.

“I’m so sorry kiddo.” Patton stroked the back of Deceit’s head. “When I saw you on Roman’s floor, acting like normal, I was so relieved to see you were okay. I was going to let you leave here, thinking everything was going to go back to normal! I should have known…”

Deceit’s breathing got more jagged. He could hear sobbing in the background and Deceit lifted his head he saw Virgil collapsed into the arms of Roman, wailing uncontrollably, with a bowler hat still in his hands. He tried to offer something, a single word, to his dark sibling but Patton let out a gentle hush

“You don’t have to say anything yet. This needs to be slow, and you’ve already made a huge step. Let’s get some sleep now and talk more in the morning.”

Patton felt Deceits head move in a nodding motion. The side whispered “Can I….? I don’t want to…”

“I wasn’t going to let you sleep alone” Patton smiled “We’re going to make sure you never feel alone again.” A small, tired but thankful smile appeared on Deceit’s face.

_‘This warmth in my chest… Yeah, I totally don’t like this feeling’_


End file.
